A Day of Dance, Carthusian Silence and Good Food: A Trip to Collegno

Just a few minutes from Turin, if you like even by metro, are enough to spend a day among dance performances of the highest level, walks among ancient tree species and historic monuments that recall the times when the streets we walked were populated by the Knights of the Most Holy Annunciation. Collegno was an important point of reference for travellers as early as Roman times, when it became a staging post along the Mont Cenis route to France. One of the first stops of our trip is the Certosa Reale, in whose cloister the "spaziamento" once took place: the walk during which, once a week, the monks could talk freely with their brothers. After having been the seat of the Royal Asylum and then of the Psychiatric Hospital, today the complex has been reborn thanks to careful redevelopment work.

The construction of the charterhouse was commissioned in 1641 by Christine of France, on the architectural model of the Grande Chartreuse of Grenoble. It's said that it was precisely following a pilgrimage to the mother house of the Carthusian Order that she made a solemn vow to erect a charterhouse near Turin. Among the best-known monuments of the former charterhouse is the Portal of Juvarra, made by the architect in 1737. Inside the complex we also admire the 19th-century frescoes of the Church of the Annunciation. Past, present and future coexist very well in these places: the Lavanderia a Vapore, built in the years immediately after 1855, a period when the site began to house psychiatric patients, is today an excellent cultural centre that hosts dance performances of international importance.

Art has found inspiration even in the city's news events: Luigi Pirandello's 1929 drama, "As You Desire Me", as well as the 1962 film "Lo smemorato di Collegno" (The Forgetful Man of Collegno), starring Totò, develop a story that really happened in 1926, when a soldier suffering from amnesia, once back from the war, was unable to recognise his own family. Collegno is also a destination for nature lovers: the vast park of the Certosa Reale is an oasis crossed by tree-lined avenues with rare species and equipped with sports and recreational facilities, much loved by the public. After this long walk, a lovely evening awaits us in the name of the flavours of the area: we decide in fact to dine at the Trattoria La Casa di Bacco, on via Verdi.

Going in, the frescoes on the walls, portraying the gentle Piedmontese hills, immediately set us dreaming, but we also notice with pleasure the numerous bottles of wine on display, along with the very colourful jars of tasty preserves. Welcoming us with great kindness is Mrs Ernesta, who for eight years has run the place with love and enthusiasm together with her sister Silvana and with Ramona and Giulia. "We're a very close-knit, all-female staff. For me, creating this atmosphere of harmony in which today we all work with a smile has been an important achievement.

I used to run another restaurant in the centre of Turin, but this place, located in the province, has allowed me to reconcile motherhood and work: by staying open in the evening only on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, I have the time I need to be with my children, aged 12 and 14", Mrs Ernesta tells us, who has created a place where this harmony shines through in every detail, including the family atmosphere and the freshness of the dishes, always plentiful and based on seasonality. Our dinner begins with a rich Piedmontese starter, which, besides the vitello tonnato, the anchovies in green sauce and the peppers in brusco, also includes an exquisite salad of musetto with beans and onions, and the giardiniera of vegetables in tuna. We continue with the potato gnocchi with tomato and sausage: delicious, they melt in your mouth.

Some of us choose the tagliolini with vegetables and the gnocchi with beetroot and gorgonzola, but the warm and reassuring legume soups also win fans. We wash down these goodies of authentic home cooking with wines selected from around 150 labels, including many Piedmontese ones. Among the main courses we enjoy an excellence of local cuisine: the raw fassone beef tartare, as well as the fassone tagliata. Part of our group opts for the oven-baked pork shank with potatoes, and the veal fricandò with porcini mushrooms is also very popular. Finally, we certainly don't resist the very good homemade desserts, including the panna cotta, the bunet and the hazelnut cake with Moscato zabaglione, as well as the tarts made with the house jams. Jams which, before leaving, we also stock up on, as well as various other preserves, but not only: we can also take away the bottle of wine we didn't finish.

We'll certainly gladly return here, perhaps on the occasion of one of the themed evenings dedicated to mixed fry, bagna cauda or mixed boiled meats.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante La Casa di Bacco Via Verdi, 67 Collegno (TO) Tel.: 011/4154879